Things I've Learned About Strength Training

deekaydee

Is the Stronglifts 5x5 and New rules of Lifting for Women .....a DVD that you buy....

Oh, and there's also a SL5x5 download for your iPod/iPad that I LOVE. Super easy to use and great at tracking your progress.

thefuzz1290

Is the Stronglifts 5x5 and New rules of Lifting for Women .....a DVD that you buy....

Stronglifts is a free download. Google it. It comes with a 'tracker' spreadsheet and a rather lengthy manual. The manual is wordy and 'gimmicky', but once you figure out the basics of the program, you're golden. There's not much on proper form, however, so I strongly recommend doing your own research on form, getting a trainer, etc. Don't underestimate the importance of proper form, which is HARD to do if you don't know what you're doing.

New Rules is a book, about $16 on Amazon. He does a better job of describing form for those lifts (but still might be useful to get some outside help from a trainer or youtube videos).

Also youtube Mark Rippotte (he wrote Starting Strength...essentially the Bible of weight training) and he has great videos on how to complete the exercises. I thought I was deadlifting right until I watched his video and found out my form was all sorts of jacked up...with the correct form I instantly added 50lbs to my deadlift.

ninerbuff

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

Sounds exactly like information that I would post! Excellent!

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

katetaylor999

Brilliant thread full of great advice. Thanks for sharing what you've learnt with us, and hopefully saving some from some very painful ones

tjortegon

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

My husbands biggest fear.... I'll have to prove him wrong... I'm a secretly strength training so far he's loving my shoulders....

chrishgt4

Dead on.

There should be a section on the forums somewhere for general advice and this should be in it...

ninerbuff

If you're in a gym, there shoukd be a personal trainer around there somewhere. Some gyms offer a free sessions to start, if yours doesn't then pay for one. You'll thank me later . And you don't need a personal trainer for every gym session, just once every few weeks to show you how to use the weights properly and show you different exercises.

Good luck!

THIS. I have several clients that I only meet with once a month. I see them in the gym a lot, but I'm not training them personally when they are on their own. When they need a new program, I write it up then spend an hour with them going over execution and making sure they are using enough weight to ensure it's enough.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

2hmom

Thank you. I need to frame #10!

allynady

bump

adamsilva

well said.

ninerbuff

Great post, but I don't totally agree with #7. You can make muscle gains without eating a high calorie diet.. If you are in tune with your body, you know the tipping point. Once you find this fine line, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

You can disagree, but there are numerous studies that are peer reviewed showing that muscle can't be built without surplus. While there are exceptions (athlete returning to lifting after long layoff, obese/very overweight on a lifting program, newbie who's never lifted before) it's practically impossible to build muscle on a calorie deficit.
Bodybuilders spend more time on the "fine line" you mention more than anyone when it comes to muscle building and losing fat. If it were possible to do as you mentioned, they wouldn't have a bulking offseason.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

this person did not give his credentials, unless you know this guy, do not follow his advice, he could be right or wrong i don't know and neither do you. please ask a certified personal trainer or someone who is educated with a degree in the industry.

You don't always need credentials to point out good advice. As a Certified Trainer, I totally agree with everything written here.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Stronglifts 5x5 is the best beginner program I've seen so far.

I have to echo this. I started off doing New Rules of Lifting for Women, but switched to Stronglifts 5x5 a month ago. I LOOOOOVE Stronglifts, love the results, love the simplicity of the program. New Rules was a good read, and I liked the first few stages, but I find Stronglifts much more effective. With New Rules I was kind of 'guessing' at how I should increase the weights, and with Stronglifts, it's all laid out for you.

I have done a lot of YouTubeing, watched a lot of Rippetoe's form videos, and got some help from a trainer at my gym to get the form down. That's important for a newbie.

I work out with a trainer 3 times a week but want to move down to 2 sessions to save money. I googled Stronglifts 5x5 and didn't find a "program" that I could literally use in my house. Does anyone have a link to the program I could look at? Thanks!

You pay your trainer for it, so have them teach it to you.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Check out Rippetoe's starting strength too He has better credentials, and it includes a lot more information on technique (Vs start strength text is 60% telling you how great it is)
Also heard on BB site that 3x5 is more sustainable long term.

In any case, it's good to read both and find what works for you. I like Stronglifts' suggestion of rows instead of Rippetoe's power cleans, for example.

The only reason I didn't mention Starting Strength is because power cleans are very difficult for a beginner to do...heck even for advanced lifters its difficult to master.

True Dat!

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Butterfly3730

13. Cardio=weight loss, lifting=fat loss.

I have reached my goal weight before (129 pounds, I'm 5'5.5" and "big" boned) and I wasn't happy with my body.
I then gained it back (I'm a yo-yoer lol).
The next time I wanted to lose I did P90X and got down to 132 and I LOVED my body! I still did a ton of cardio (which sometimes isn't the best when trying to retain muscle), but my 132 pound body was SMALLER than my 129 pound body!

Just wanted to put that out there for all the ladies who slave on the treadmil, yes you will lose weight, but to hold onto the muscle you have, strength training is the key!

Thanks for posting this. I finally got this recently and now I have a more balanced workout regimen :-)

ninerbuff

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

That is all about personal goals and what the individual is trying to achieve. Not a guideline.


IMO do the research yourself don take this information just how it sits.

If it comes down to body conditioning and shaping, it holds true. Low weight high reps work more on muscle endurance more than it does for conditioning (or "toning" as women like to call it) the muscle itself.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

RachelGraceReed83

So if I am on a calorie deficit I can't gain muscle? Should I just not be at a deficit on the days I do strength?

bloodguilt

1. Unless you are an experienced lifter, do not create your own program. Great programs, created by professional strength coaches, have already been created...do one of those.

2. Do not do a program you find in a body building magazine. Bodybuilding programs are pretty much useless for beginners since they contain high sets, high reps, and a lot of isolation exercises.

3. Compound exercises are key. Learn how to squat, deadlift, bench press, and row. With those 4 exercises, you will get the body you want.

4. Heavy weight, lower reps > low weight, high reps.

5. Form is key. Take time to perfect your form, your joints will appreciate it.

6. Ego is the cause of most injuries.

7. You will not gain significant muscle mass unless you exceed your recommended caloric intake.

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

9. Have a plan. If you go into the gym without a plan, you'll limit your results. Stick with a routine for at least 6 weeks to see if it works for you. If its working, don't change it until it stops working.

10. If you show me a fitness study, I'll show you a contradicting study. What may work for someone else, may not work for you. Fitness is an imperfect science, there is a lot of trial and error to find what works best.

11. A thousand crunches a day will not get you a six-pack, but a good diet will.

12. You will keep the weight off longer if you lift weights. The more muscle you have, the more resting calories you burn.

Feel free to add more to help inform!

Awesome post.

m60kaf

8. Women will not look like men if they lift weights. Women who do look like men take steroids and estrogen blockers (or they really are men in women's clothing).

My husbands biggest fear.... I'll have to prove him wrong... I'm a secretly strength training so far he's loving my shoulders....

Yeah and it takes YEARS to bulk up. The thought of *accidentally* becoming massive makes me laugh ... if only it were that easy.

I also used to think under every fat guy (me as was) is a big muscly guy --- nope underneath all that fat is a skinny guy. For me loosing weight was so much easier than getting bigger - and this post pretty much covers all the conclusions I've come to along the way , good one

brown0928

I'm starting Strong Lift today, and I'm super excited. Thanks for the info/advice!